In the molding of plastic parts by injection molding, mold parts are brought together to define a mold cavity, polymeric material is injected into the mold cavity and, after allowing time for the polymer to solidify, the mold parts are drawn apart and the molded part removed. The movable elements or platen of the molding machine are arranged to move in a horizontal direction and slide on stationary bars for this purpose to transport one of the mold parts into and out of mating relation with the other, stationary, mold part.
The weight of the mold part transported by the platen causes a bending force to be applied to the platen bearings, which produces wear on the bearings and, sometimes, difficulty in separating mold parts for removal of the molded article.